Refrigerator.



No. 640,2!0. Patented Jan. 2, |900. R. E. LEWIS.

REFRIGERATOF.

lApplication tiled Oct. 18, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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out in the claims hereto appended.

UNrinn STATES ATENT FUCE- ROVLAND E. LEVIS, OF VEATHERFORD, TEXAS.

REFRIGERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 640,210, dated January 2, 1900.

Application liled October 1 81 1 8 9 9.

To @ZZ when@ it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROWLAND E. LEWIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Weatherford, in the county of Parker and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Refrigerator, of which the following is a specification.

The inventionrelates to improvements in refrigerators.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of refrigerators and to provide a simple and comparatively inexpensive one adapted to reduce the temperature of its contents by evaporation of Water and capable of utilizingaportion of the same for excluding insects from the shelves.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a refrigerator constructed in accordance with this invention, the doors and the drip or absorbent cloth being removed to illustrate the construction of the pans and the shelves and the means for supporting the same. Fig.2isavertical sectional view. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional View illustrating the construction of the front gutter of the shelves. Fig. t is a similar view illustrating the construction of the side gutter. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional View of one end of one of the pans.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 designates a refrigerator-casing, consisting of a supporting-frame having front and rear corner-posts and provided atthe back and sides With panels' 2 and 3, of Wire-netting or other suitable material, and having suitable doors 4 at the front provided With similar panels 5 and connected with the front corner-posts 6 by hinges 7. The refrigerator-casing is provided at its top with a hinged lid or cover 8, for a purpose hereinafter described; but the refrigerator-casing may be constructed in any other suitable manner, and perforated or foraminous sheet-metal panels may Serial No. 733,996. (No model.)

shelves and the supporting-rods from the ends of the casing to provide spaces for absorbent or drip cloths 14.

The pans and the shelves are provided at their ends With depending hook shaped ianges 15 and 16, engaging the supportingrods, as clearly illustrated in Figs. l and 2 of the drawings, and adapted to be drawn outward through the spaces provided by the L- shaped arms, whereby the troughs and the pans may be removed from the front of the refrigerator and replaced therein by sliding them inward and outward. The water-pans 11, which are arranged at intervals, as shown,

may be of any desired number, according to the amount of evaporation desired and the temperature required, and the flanges are formed integral with the end walls. The drip or absorbent cloths 14, which extend from the top pan 11, are located in the spaces between the Walls of theV refrigerator-casing and the pans and shelves and have their upper ends arranged within the top pan. The lower ends of the cloths depend Within the bottom pan 17, Whichvextends to the Walls of the casing, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The cloths are looped between their ends, and these loops 18 extend over the hook-shaped flanges of the intermediate pans into the latter, whereby the cloths are supplied with Water at dierent points.

The shelves 12, which are arranged between the pans, present flat supporting-surfaces and are provided with marginal gutters 19, formed by depending substantially U- shaped bends, and those at the ends of the shelves are extended to form the hook-shaped roor flanges 16. The gutters surrounding the shelves are adapted to contain water to prevent ants and other insects from passing from the exterior of the refrigerator to the contents of the shelves.

The hinged lid or cover S, which is located at the top of the refrigerator, affords ready access to the top pan, which requires more Water than the other pans, and the drip is collected by the bottom pan, so that there is no liability of the Water leaking from the refrigerator.

It will be seen that the refrigerator is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction, that the pans and the shelves are readily removable, and that as the dripeloths are supplied with water at intervals the evaporation is constant and the temperature Within the refrigerator is greatly reduced. It will also be apparent that the gutters surrounding the shelves and containing Water are adapted to prevent insects from reaching the shelves.

Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details of construction Within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

What is claimed isl. A refrigerator comprising a easin g, supporting-rods arranged Within the casing and offset from the walls thereof to provide intervenin g spaces, pans arranged at intervals and supported by the rods, shelves also supported by the rods, and drip-cloths arranged in the said spaces and looped into the pans, substantially as described.

2. A refrigerator comprising a casing, supporting-rods arranged Within the easing at the ends thereof and provided with approximately-L shaped arms offsetting the rods from the supports, pans having engaging portions at their ends arranged on the rods and adapted to slide thereon, and drip-cloths connected with the pans and arranged in the spaces between the Walls of the casing and the pans, substantially asdescribed.

3. A refrigerator comprising a easing having supportingrods, and shelves provided With marginal gutters and having depending hookshaped portions extending from the gutters adjacent to the rods and engaging the latter, substantially as described.

4. A refrigerator comprising a casing, supporting-rods arranged therein, pans having flanges engaging the rods,'shelves provided with engaging portions supported by the rods, a bottom pan extending beyond the said pans to the Walls of the casing, and drip-cloths depending into the bottom pan and looped into the other pans, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ROWLAND E. LEWIS.

Witnesses:

J. C. LITTLETON, E. E. SHUMALL. 

